


Wild ~ Phan AU

by BatteredJuliet



Category: Phan
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-05-29 21:12:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6393928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatteredJuliet/pseuds/BatteredJuliet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Description: Dan and Phil have been friends for as long either of them can remember. Being the best of friends since before they could talk, made them as close as brothers. Growing up the boys spent more time with each other than with their own families. The two did everything together. When the boys grew into men, they decided that they could share an apartment together. Afterall they knew each other better than anyone else. The transition from best friends to roommates might not go over as easy as expected. Going from spending maybe three nights a week at each other's house to actually living together, will have it’s ups and downs. Who knew that different people had different habits? What if Dan starts to develop feelings for a certain best friend? What if Phil starts to feel the same way? Will it tear them apart? Or just drive them Wild?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Before You Read

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever book, story, whatever you want to call it, that I’ve ever posted seriously. (I posted something stupid a while back) If anyone actually reads this that would be really awesome. Go easy on me I don’t do stuff like this; I’ve always been too scared to. I don’t really know where this is gonna go. I’m sorry if it’s crap. I don’t really know…. I’m not much of a writer but I’m willing to try. If you have any tips or anything that could help me; maybe ideas for what you want to see in the story let me know. Please feel free to message me and/or comment. But um yeah, I guess that’s all I’ve got right now.

Dan and Phil have been friends for as long either of them can remember. Being the best of friends since before they could talk, made them as close as brothers. Growing up the boys spent more time with each other than with their own families. The two did everything together. When the boys grew into men, they decided that they could share an apartment together. After-all they knew each other better than anyone else. The transition from best friends to roommates might not go over as easy as expected. Going from spending maybe three nights a week at each other's house to actually living together, will have it's ups and downs. Who knew that different people had different habits? What if Dan starts to develop feelings for a certain best friend? What if Phil starts to feel the same way? Will it tear them apart? Or just drive them Wild? 

Hello! I'm Samm! ^~^ Um, this is the first thing I've ever posted seriously. Not really sure where this is gonna go but hey! This was inspired my many amazing writers and songs. The songs include: Wild by Troye Sivan, Mary's Song (Oh my, my) by Taylor Swift, and Best Friend by Jason Chen. I will post quotes at the beginnings of chapters. They may or may not pertain to the plot of said chapter. I'll post them because I just like quotes. I have a lot saved in docs on my computer so I thought I'd put them to good use. I'll try to post a lot considering that I'm done with school for the time being. (I have to take my ACT before I can go to college.) This story (is that what you would call it?) will be based on the songs listed above, vaguely. I'm new to this so I might take some time for me to get the hang of it. Feel free to add stuff that you'd want to read in this. If you have any suggestions on locations that would be great because I live in the US not London, so I don't really know many places there. (does that make sense?) I also am horrible with time zones, and time changes so if that ever comes up just know that they probably won't exist in this fic. Also if there are school scenes they will be based off of my high school experience. Lingo and spelling might be different. There will also probably be some "big, fancy words" used in this. That's just because growing up I was never talked down to so I learned some words that usually wouldn't be introduced until like 8th or 9th grade. I also might use some of my parents phrases so if you don't understand them just ask. I don't really know what else to inform you about so if you have questions or I say/do something you don't understand feel free to ask. I'm not the best typer so there might be some mistakes. I will double and triple check my spelling and grammar before posting but there might still be a few things that slip through. So if you see something and it really bothers you let me know and I'll fix it! Anyway that's it for now I guess! Love you! Samm! ^~^


	2. Cast List

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so here is a cast list for this. Names, roles, and characters may be added or changed at anytime. This is always open to editing.Images and ppl playing each role will be place in the decided chapter. Love you!  
> ~Samm ^~^

Cast list:  
Dan Howell (Dan Howell)  
Phil Lester (Phil Lester)  
Lanie (Lanie)/The fault in our Phandom’s “lester” -G+  
Martyn Lester (Martyn Lester)  
Ryder Howell (Dan’s brother)  
Elyse Howell (Dan’s mum)  
Carolyn Hyde (Panorama Principal)  
Jaxton Masters (Panorama Principal)  
Josh (Phil’s co-worker)  
Beau Underwood (Dan’t co-worker)  
Arabella Phoenix (Dan’s co-worker)  
Desdemona Ashton(Phil’s Ex)  
Eleanor Calder (Dan’s Ex)  
Gemma Styles (Receptionist at Empire)  
Chris (Chris)  
PJ (PJ)  
Louise (Louise)  
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bison (my irl friend)/Waitress  
Sara (Phil’s friend from school)/Sara Philbrick -G+  
Joe (Dan’s bully/ Sara’s brother)  
Renee Lester (Phil’s mum)  
Katherine Ryan


	3. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song of the Chapter (SOCH): Young Homie by Chris Rene.
> 
> Quote of the Chapter(QOCH): Happiness can not be traveled to, owned, earned, or won. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude. ~Denis Waitley 
> 
> Like I said in the Before you read thing, there will be a quote at the beginning of each chapter. Also I decided to add a song of the chapter as well because everyone can use some new music in their lives. It will probz be whatever song starts playing when I finish the chapter so you can see how random my music taste is. Lol. If I could figure a way to post more than one picture I would but until that happens you can look forward to a cute (maybe) or funny picture to look at! \^.^/ On with the story! ~Samm^~^

~Dan~

“Phiiilll! You haven’t helped at all.” I said as I carried the last box in from the truck. “Sorry,” he replied, sheepishly. I set the box I was holding down on the floor and looked around at our new apartment. It wasn’t much but it was better than living at home. The room was pretty barren, but the furniture was due to arrive soon. Moving to London was quite the task. I looked over to Phil, finding him sitting on the floor playing what sounded like Super Mario Brothers on his DS. He was so lazy sometimes, but he’s my best friend. I started wondering around making sure that all the boxes were placed in the right rooms.  
I walked into my room and started going through boxes, making sure that they were out of the way for when the furniture arrived. I started to plan where it would all go. I’d decided that my bed was to go on the same wall as the door, my desk to go on the opposite wall and dresser to be adjacent to the bed. I was still clueless as to where to put my piano.  
“Dan!?” Phil asked from the lounge. “Where did you go?” “I’m in my room Phil,” I called in response. I heard running footsteps down the hall. I turned to the door just as Phil came rushing through it. “There’s someone at the door.” “Why couldn’t you answer it, you dork?” I asked, annoyed. “I - I didn’t think about that…”  he shrugged, looking at his feet. I shook my head and went to answer the door.  
When I opened the door I found that it was just the people delivering our furniture. I let them in, direction them where to put everything. When they were finished, it was up to Phil and I to arrange the furniture the way that we wanted it to be. Naturally to complete this task we turned on some music. Being that we spent half our time on the internet I had made sure that the wifi was set up and working before we moved in. I took out my laptop, opened Spotify and hit shuffle. The first song that came on was “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
After hours of arranging and rearranging, we finally had the whole apartment set up. Truthfully it wouldn’t have taken that long if it weren’t for: the snack breaks, dance breaks and all the singing that allowed us to procrastinate getting the work done.  
I went to my room after helping Phil arrange his room. I started to unpack boxes. I put all my clothes in the dresser. My laptop sitting on my desk was playing “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea. I put black and white sheets on my bed as well as my matching comforter. When I finished making my bed I put white string lights over the headboard. I placed a few framed pictures on top of my dresser.  
After I finished unpacking most of my things I picked up my laptop and went to sit on my bed so I could scroll tumblr for awhile. Before I could even pick up the device there was a loud noise from the lounge. I rushed out to see what had happened. Walking into the room I was met with Phil laying on the floor. He looked up when I stepped closer to ensure that he wasn’t hurt.  
“What happened?” I asked the raven-haired boy on the floor. “Well, I was laying on the sofa watching T.V. and I reached for my phone only to realize that it was farther away than I’d originally thought it was. Ultimately I fell onto the floor because I couldn’t find my phone.” I facepalmed at his weirdness. “Why am I even friends with you?”  
“Because you love me!” he responded cheekily standing up. I said, “Whatever. Let’s lock up and go to bed. It’s been a long day and we have a lot of work to do tomorrow.” He nodded and followed me towards our bedrooms. We changed into our pajamas and called our goodnights to each other. I made sure to put my phone on the charger. I laid in my bed and waited to drift off to Neverland.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
I awoke the next morning confused. Where am I? This isn’t my room. Who kidnapped me in my sleep? How did I get here? OH! Wait, that’s right! This is my room now. I moved. Duh! After laying there for ten minutes contemplating whether or not to get up and face the day, I dragged myself up and out of bed. Trudging to the bathroom, I completed my usual morning routine.  
Standing in front of my wardrobe, I tried to decide if I was going to wear actual clothes to explore my new surroundings or to just wear sweats and lay around the house all day. Being my usual self, I couldn’t make up my mind so I opted to ask Phil if he wanted to go out or not. I quickly threw on a pair of sweats, so as to not freak him out too much, and when in search of my best friend.  
Checking his room and the bathroom first proved that he was in fact not in this part of the house. Maybe he was in the lounge. Well that was a bust. Oh, I know! The kitchen, I’m sure that’s where he is. Sure enough there he was; eating my cereal! Of course!  
“Phil, that’s my cereal! Why are you eating it?! You have your own.” I exclaimed, catching him off guard. He jumped dropping the mug he was holding. It clattered to the floor cacophonously. However, it didn’t break; just spilled coffee all over the floor and cracked a few tiles.  
“Dan, you scared me!” Phil gasped. “Now there’s coffee all over the floor! Will you help me clean this up?” I sighed but reluctantly helped him clear the mess away. “You need to be more careful.” I muttered to him, as I threw away the coffee stained paper towels in my hands. “I wouldn’t have to if you didn’t sneak up on me,” he replied, dramatically.  
“Oh, get over it! I was just coming to ask you what you wanted to do today. If you wanted to stay in or go explore the city,” was my reply to his statement. A thoughtful expression crossed his face. “I think that we should go out and explore. Especially because we need to figure out how long and how far it will take to get to work tomorrow,” Phil replied, thoughtfully.  
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I sighed, I was really hoping that he would want to stay home because I just didn’t feel like dealing with people today. “Alright, I’m gonna go and put actual clothes on then,” I called over my shoulder as I left for my room. Returning to my still open wardrobe, I decided on plain black skinny jeans and a black t-shirt with a skull on it. I slid on my black and grey DC high tops with red and white accents. I straightened my hair then placed my phone, wallet, keys and headphones into my pockets. I called to Phil to tell him to meet me in the lounge once he was ready. While I waited for him I attached my headphones to my phone and hit shuffle on my music. I started jamming to Mat Kearney’s “One Black Sheep”. I connected so well with that song. Halfway through the song Phil stepped into the room dressed and ready to go. Following him to the door, I made sure to lock the door.  
We spent the rest of the day exploring our new city and figuring the way to the jobs that we started at tomorrow. Phil would be working as a graphic designer for Empire Magazine’s London offices. I would be teaching music at a newer school called “Panorama High School” (A/N: Idk if this is actually a school. Or even in London but I thought it was a cool name for a school. And if you’ll notice I kinda put Phil’s college degree to work. Dan is more based off of me and what I want to be someday.) Being fresh out of Uni I was lucky to get such an amazing job so quick. I’m not sure why this school, which had been open for around 4 or 5 years, suddenly needed a new music teacher/band director but I wasn’t complaining. Even luckier was that it was only ten minutes from our new house, by vehicle of course. Phil’s was at least twenty minutes away. I was really excited to start as well. Panorama is a private school but, based on the research I’d done, it has an phenomenal music program. Their marching band was supposedly the best around. I couldn’t wait!  
We go home pretty late so we just decided to just go straight to bed, we’d gotten dinner while we were out. I made sure I had everything I would need for school the next day, I even chose my outfit for the day. I put my phone on the charger and set my alarm before jumping into bed. I closed my eyes and let sleep take me to the land of dreams and happiness.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey there everyone! (Still doubtful that anyone reads/cares about this thing but I digress) So, this first chapter! Yay! It's done. Sorry if you've been waiting for this, procrastination. I hope you enjoy it. If you liked it feel free to comment on it. ^~^ If you actually do read this, THANK YOU SO SO SO SO SO MUCH! I LOVE YOU TO INFINITY AND BEYOND! Oops that was a Toy Story thing! 0.o Hemmings-way! (sorry I had to. My family always says Hemingway, like Earnest, so I had add a 5 Seconds of Summer thing on here. SOZ) Um Idk what else to say but uh yeah! Also if you care I made a Spotify playlist for this. It's basically a mess of music that may be referenced in this story or that helped to inspire it! But uh, yeah! I've noticed how some writers on here call their readers cute little names so I've decided to do that as well. I haven't thought of one at the moment (partially because I don't think anyone will read it) so if you can think of something that you, as a reader, would like to be called by me then feel free to leave it in the comments. I'll try to think of one as well. So yeah! Love you all! ~Samm! ^~^


	4. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Welcome back! I hope you enjoy this chapt. On my Google Docs it was like 10n pages. :D This one is all about the first day of work for Danyul! I hope you love it! I worked so hard on this. If you notice there is a photo; I made that! ^_^ I'm so proud. It took forever to get that stupid thing to work. I had to use like 4 different editing sites to get it to work. If anyone wants to help me out and try to make them, I'd be forever grateful! (Plus you might get some insight into the chapters. shh, I didn't say that) Um, I'll let you get to it then.
> 
> SOTC: Somewhere In Neverland by All Time Low! (I chose this one because there a lyric analysis on it later in the chapt. I could have used, Why or What Hurts The Most - both by Rascal Flatts - but I wanted this one. Feel free to look the other 2 songs up because they're fantastic!)
> 
> QOTC: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined. ~Henry David Thoreau (I love this quote)
> 
> Enjoy, my beautiful angels! (if you can think of something better, please tell me!)
> 
> ~Sam ^~^

~Dan~  
My alarm went off at 5 AM. Now normally I wouldn’t even think about getting up this early but I had to: shower and get dressed, then make breakfast for Phil and I, then get him up - so he wouldn’t be late for work, gather my things and catch a train to Panorama. School started at 7 and I had to not only be there before the students but I had to go through orientation. Not only was I teaching band at the high school but I was teaching it at the two junior highs that were on campus. Thankfully I wasn’t the only music instructor in the district. There were two others and we had to split up and head to the eight elementary schools that were in the district to direct their bands at least once a week. It was a lot to handle. (A/N: The band director job and schools are based off of my school district. Dan will be doing the job of one of my band directors; his name was Mr. Rhodes. He was a great teacher; the fun one honestly. But he knew when it was time to work. Rhodes transposes music, conducts, runs the pep band -they play for the home basketball games, helps out with making charts (i’ll explain that later), runs the Jazz band, co-runs the Varsity band and soooo many other things for us. He truly doesn’t get enough thanks for all that he does. I’m excited that Dan gets to play such a big factor in his job.) Each elementary school has a music teacher but sometimes when they couldn’t find a substitute one of us had to fill in for a while.  
I was in band all throughout school and I knew from about the time that I got to my junior year of high school that music was a big part of my life and that I wanted it to stay that way. Growing up I always went back and forth between wanting to be a teacher or a vet. And considering that fact that fake blood on medical dramas on TV grosses me out and the fact that I can't stand to see an animal in pain I figured that teacher was the best course of action. So suddenly it was just right there; a way to have music in my life forever and to be a teacher. It was a pretty simple decision actually. My band directors and music teachers helped to inspire me as well.  
I shut my alarm off and rolled out of bed, literally. Once I dragged myself off the floor I headed to the bathroom to shower, get dressed and straighten my hair. I left the bathroom being surprisingly more awake that I’d been when I walked in. Entering the kitchen I decided to make a healthy breakfast of: bacon, chocolate chip -because they’re better than pancakes - waffles, and some orange juice. After the waffles and bacon were made I placed them on a couple plates and put one plate in the microwave and one in the toaster oven (I don’t know why we had both they basically did the same thing) to keep them warm. Then I went to go wake Phil.  
Walking into his room, I found that he was cuddled up in his blankets with his lion resting on his other pillow. Sometimes he was really annoying and others he was just a cutie-pie. Deciding to be nice and not throw him out of bed like I usually would, I picked up the lion and nuzzled it into his face. “Wake up, Philly. It’s time to face the day. You wouldn’t want to be late on your first day at your new job, would you? C’mon, your bestest friend Dan made you a special breakfast to commemorate such a lucky occasion. You and him both have wonderful new jobs in London, following your dreams,” I personified the lion, using a high-pitched voice. His eyes opened after the second sentence of the lion’s speech. “Hey there, sleepy!” I replied, in my own voice and not the lion’s.  
“Morning,” he laughed. “Did you really make breakfast?” “‘Course I did!” I replied. “It’s a big day for us after all.” Phil nodded, agreeing. “Well let’s not waste it laying in bed all day then. Get up and dressed then you can join me in the kitchen for breakfast!” I exclaimed, leaving to his morning routine. A few minutes later, he walked into the kitchen. Looking around then frowning he said, “I thought you made breakfast.” I simply replied, “I did.” A look of confusion crossed his face as he once more looked around the kitchen. “Where is it then?” He asked. I stood from my place at the table, walked to the microwave and removed the plate I’d stowed away inside. Handing my confused best friend his plate then moving to the toaster oven to retrieve my own plate, I laughed at his expression.  
“Would you like some orange juice?” I asked. All he could do was nod and take a place at the table. I pulled two glasses from the cabinet then the juice from the fridge and poured the orange liquid (A/N: please don’t make that dirty) into the glasses. After returning the juice to the fridge and placing both glasses on the table I sat across from Phil to eat. After breakfast we gathered our things and walked out the front door, locking it behind us. We headed for the train.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Getting off the train, alone now, I walked the short distance to my new workplace. The train ride was passed with a constant flow of music. While listening to All Time Low’s “Somewhere In Neverland”, I was hit hard with the cruel reality of my life. The whole first verse seems to describe my life in the current time. For instance the lines, “Say goodbye to the halls and the classes/Say hello to a job and the taxes,” depict someone finishing school -whether it be high school or uni is uncertain- and becoming an adult with a job who pays taxes. The next lines, “The weekends with old friends/Spilling into 9 to 5 routine,” shows how difficult it is to spend time with your friends after graduation and getting a job.  
The lines, “Tell me how you feel over and done with/Like your life is a map with no compass to guide,” expresses the feeling that your life may be moving too fast or in a hectic manner and you just want it to stop or at least slow down. It also gives off a feeling of being lost and not knowing how to get back to what’s easy. The final two lines of the first verse, “At the bar drinking way too much/We sing along to ‘Forever Young’,”  create a picture of adulthood not being all you wanted it to be and wish you could just turn back time and savour your childhood while it’s there. (A/N: This happened to me right before I graduated. I had this song on repeat for a week when I first heard it. After that I listened to it everyday, literally, in the month before graduation. The first verse hit me like a truck traveling at 70 miles an hour on the highway. The reality of my life came at me so fast I didn’t know how to stop it. I’m still not ready to be an adult and I’m 19. I don’t think being an adult is something anyone wants to do.) The whole song made me think, like really think. It made me wonder if I was taking the right path; if, when sitting on my deathbed, I would really be happy with the career decision I’ve made. I really hoped so because these thoughts were making me less excited and more nervous for my first day.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Upon arriving at Panorama I found my way to the office to meet with the co-principles for a quick little tour and introduction. The secretary, Betty, helped me to sign in and directed me to the conference room, where I was to meet my superiors. Stepping into the room I was awestruck.  
It was beautiful! The carpet was a cool grey, that looked almost olive green in the shadows. The early morning sunlight was flitting through the floor to ceiling windows and brightening up the spacious room. The center of the room was consumed by a beautiful, ten-seater, dark wooden table. Matching black and silver office chairs surrounded the modern, rectangular, table. The walls were a cream color; the farthest wall accented in orange. A row of low cabinets leveled the alcove with a large flat-screen television sitting atop them. The wall opposite the wall of windows was covered in mirrors. With an acoustic tiled ceiling and fluorescent lighting the room gave off an air of professionalism. It was like something out of a fancy high class business magazine!  
There sat at the table along the wall of windows were, who I assumed, the co-principles of Panorama. “Hello, you must be the newest addition to our staff,” the man - dressed in a light blue dress shirt and almost gold tie; a dark blue suit jacket - said the moment he noticed me. “Come on in and sit down,” a woman wearing a pink sweater added.  
“Hello um…..” I said unsure. “OH! Right my name is Jaxton Masters and this is Carolyn Hyde. We’re the co-principles of Panorama. It’s so wonderful to have you joining our team this year Mr. Howell!” Jaxton, I mean Mr. Masters, replied. “It truly is great to see a new face, and so young as well.” Ms. Hyde interjected. “Uh, th-thank you f-for the o-opportunity.” I barely stuttered out. Even when I was meeting teachers outside of school I was awkward.  
“Now, there’s no need to be so nervous.” Mr. Masters comforted. “We’re just like a big family here. And like with every family there will be tiffs and tough times, but through it all we’re still family and we still care about one another.” “Plus, you’ve already got the job. There’s really no need to try to impress us. Your resume alone did that.” Ms., strike that, Mrs. Hyde (I’d just noticed the ring on her left hand) smiled. “Oh. If it’s not too much to ask, why did you need a new band director? I mean, what happened to the old one?” I asked, timidly. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the answer or not after seeing their smiles drop like the ratings of a bad sit-com.  
“Well, about that…. you see…. the thing is….uh….” Mr. Masters replied, suspiciously. “I was afraid that you would ask that.” Mrs. Hyde, sighed sadly. “I -uh- You don’t have to tell me. I was just curious. Is it really that bad though?” I asked. “No. No, no, no, nothing bad. It’s just that it’s always sad to lose a member of the team,” Mr. Masters, confirmed. Did someone die? Is that why they’re acting like this? I’m so confused. I gave them an unsure smile. “Oh, Jax, stop it! The poor kid looks scared to death. Nothing’s wrong dear, Mr. Halifax recently retired. Levi is still very much alive. In fact he promised to come and visit sometime. It’s just sad to see him go because he’s been with us since we opened back in ‘05.” Mrs. Hyde, assured me. Wow, ok. They’ve been open longer than I thought they were.  
I smiled. “Seems like you were pretty close with him. That’s so nice!” “Oh, yeah! He’s a wonderful man!” Mr. Masters exclaimed. “I look forward to meeting him then.” I grinned, dimples showing. “How wonderful! Your smile is like the sun on a cloudy day! It could brighten up a room and cure diseases.” Mrs. Hyde laughed. I felt my face heat up. I was never good with compliments. They always made me bashful. “And you have dimples!” Mr. Masters added. Then, turning his attention to his co-principal said, “He’s even better in person than his is on paper,Care.” “I knew he was going to be good for this place. And so polite too! Ah, what a wonderful young man!” she replied. I couldn’t believe that they thought so highly of me. I hadn’t known them longer than twenty minutes and here they were singing my praises.  
“If we’re all finished here, let’s get on with that tour!” Masters grinned. “Oh, that’s right! I knew there was something I was forgetting we had to do.” she laughed. “Shall we?” I nodded and gathered my things. We left the room and I was guided around to all the offices, there were 7 of them. Seven. Six of which I saw, the seventh I was told was in the other building and that I wouldn’t really ever need to go to. The main building had two levels, a cafeteria, three gymnasiums, a weight room, an auditorium, and two outdoor courtyards. Each taught subject seemed to have its own wing of the school including: science, health, english, social studies, foreign languages, home economics, art and music. Most of the math classes were housed in the other building. The school had two libraries; the main library and the science library. The science wing had two floors, a lecture hall and a computer lab. Both the libraries were not only stocked with books but desktop computers and laptops as well.  
When it came to the staff I learned that there were; 6 art teachers, 15 english teachers, 2 German teachers, one French teacher, 4 Spanish teachers, 9 health/Phys Ed. teachers, 13 science teachers, 15 social studies teachers, 18 math teachers, 2 family & consumer science teachers, 5 computer & business teachers, 3 industrial technology teachers, and 14 career technical programs. The Career Tech programs were in the second building. The programs included: automotive, business management, computer networking, construction, cosmetology, criminal justice, culinary, digital graphic design, engineering, marketing management, media arts, medical, teaching, and welding. I was amazed! Each new thing I learned about Panorama made me love my job that much more. My excitement was back and I was ready to get to work.  
The tour ended with music. My favorite subject! Walking into the band room I was overwhelmed with so many good memories and a joy that I couldn’t get anywhere else. I loved being here already. The band room was a large room with 4 stair-like risers. The walls were white and the linoleum tiled floor was a pale blue. Two doors on the far end of the room directly across from the main door hid the marching band’s uniforms from the door. There were two sets of double doors at the top of the risers on either side of the room that held drumline equipment. Cool grey cabinets covered both side walls at the top of the risers also containing band equipment. At the front of the room was a SMARTBoard and a computer behind a conductor’s chair, platform and stand. A door between the computer and board led to a large room that hid a small office for the directors. My desk was in the farthest back corner from the door. The larger room I learned was called the Music Resource Center (MRC) and it led to the choir room which was styled much the same as the band room. The back three walls were wooden closet doors that stored extra uniforms for both the band and the choir. The only difference being the risers. Where the risers in the band room were all curved the risers in the choir room were mostly straight. Both rooms had all black chairs covering the risers. In the band room the sets of chairs were separated by an aisle lined with blue painter’s tape.  
Upon entering both the band room and the choir room, there was a short hallway. In the choir room a door to the left led to a locker room; on the right was an office. On either side of the hall in the band room were doors that led to locker rooms. The right side had two doors and the left had one door. The lockers were used for instruments. The smaller lockers on the left-hand side held the smaller instruments such as: flutes, clarinets, and oboes. The larger lockers on the right side of the hall held bigger instruments; trumpets, horns, tubas etc.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
After exploring the band, choir, and ensemble room, I went to sit at my desk. I few short minutes after I’d sat down, the door opened revealing my new co-workers. A man and a woman stepped in with bright smiles on their faces. The man was wearing a charcoal grey, unbuttoned, button down sweater over a light blue button-down shirt paired with light khakis. A pair of black dress shoes completed his look. He introduced himself as Beau Underwood. The woman wore a white dress adorned with black birds covered by a black cardigan. A pair of shiny black flats, maroon flower earrings and maroon infinity scarf completed her outfit. Her name was Arabella Phoenix. They were cool, fun, calm and authoritative. They agreed to let me teach the high school class to introduce me to them. Hearing that made me simultaneously nervous and excited. I could not wait for my first class to start.  
~~~~~~~~  
The day passed uneventfully. My mum called me on my lunch break asking how my first day was going. I’d told her everything. From the first meeting of my superiors to the lacking of events between my orientation and now. The day was almost over now and I’d spent most of it in this office. It’s not that I didn’t want to meet more of my co-workers, it’s just that I was so awkward and antisocial that I knew I would embarrass myself if I left this chair.  
When it came to class times, the day was broken up into 4 blocks as they called them. Each class was about 90 minutes long. School started at 7:30 and ended at 2:25 everyday. First block started at 7:35 and ended at 9:06. Second block started at 9:13 and ended at 10:41. Third block started at 10:48 and ended at 12:50. Fourth block started at 12:57. Lunch was split into 4 half hour chunks. “A” lunch started right after 2nd block. “B” lunch started at 11:11. “C” lunch started at 11:44. “D” lunch started at 11:47.  
Band class was held during 4th block. Each second that ticked by brought me closer to my first shot at teaching. While yes I taught during my time student-teaching but that was  waaayy different than teaching my own class.  
Before I was ready the final bell rang, signaling the start of fourth block. Underwood and Phoenix agreed to introduce me once attendance was taken. All I had to do was sit in the chair near the computer and wait for the signal. Students walking in the room looked at me curiously. They probably thought I was a new student-teacher. Beau and Arabella had told me all about the range of student-teachers they’d worked with over the years. The students were quite respectful to past student-teachers. I just hoped that they would give me the same courtesy.  
I was shaking by the time all the kids had filed into their seats. Attendance was being taken by the drum major and everyone else was warming up. I couldn’t describe to you the fear that went through me when my co-directors walked out of the MRC and grasped the class’ attention. The classroom was soon silent. You could have heard a pin drop. Every student’s attention was at the front of the room. A hundred some pairs of eyes flickering back and forth between me and their authority figures. The silence was deafening; you could have cut the tension with a butter knife.  
Beau looked at me over his shoulder, smiling. “As I’m sure you’ve noticed by now there’s been a new addition to our band.” Arabella laughed, “I think it’s quite obvious who it is Mr. Underwood.” Beau laughed as well, his medium brown eyes shining with humor and mischief. “I would like for you all to meet our newest band director, Mr. Howell.” I waved awkwardly when all their faces turned in my direction. Why am I so awkward?! “Would you like to say hello?” Arabella asked me.  
I stood up walking to the podium and taking Beau’s place. “Uh, hello everyone. Forgive my awkward tendencies. I’ve always been a bit awkward.” I laughed. “I’m glad to be here and to be working with all of you bright young faces. This is my first teaching job. I just graduated from Uni last semester. To help you all get to know me better I - um - We decided that I would teach today’s lesson.” Beau and Arabella flashed my confident smiles and headed back to the office in the MRC.  
“Considering that I don’t know what they had planned for today I thought that we could just use today for you all to get to know me better before I teach an actual lesson. So if you have any questions that you want to ask me, then go ahead and raise your hand. I’ll answer as many as I can before class ends.” Hands flew into the air all around. Well this should be fun.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The final bell rang signaling the end of the day and the students rushed from the room. Some were headed to the buses, others were walking to their cars or homes. I sat back in my seat and sighed. That was an eventful 90 minutes. I never thought teaching would be so fun and engaging. I answered so many questions today. I didn’t think there was anything about my life that they didn’t know. I’d answered questions about everything from my birthday to living with Phil. I’d answered a lot of questions about my friendship with Phil actually. Things like, how I met him and how close we were.  
I’d really known Phil my whole life. Our parents had been high school friends. Our families did just about everything together. Every Saturday night we had a “Big Family Dinner” night. On those nights we had food, played games and just spent time together. “Big Family Dinner” nights started when we woke up. My brother, Ryder, and I would get up and help get the house ready for the Lester’s arrival. (A/N: I don’t know anything about Dan’s brother so I made that name up. Don’t laugh at me but I google searched Dan to see if I could find anything about his family. I could not. So from this point on anything regarding his family will be entirely a work of fiction. Please don’t correct me if I end up being wrong. I hope that my interpretations of the Howell and Lester families is enjoyable for you to read.) Sometimes we would have “Family Night” at the Lester’s house. It switched off every week.  
Growing up Phil and I were nearly inseparable. He was like a bother to me. It’s so different living with him rather than spending at least three nights a week at one another’s house. In school, I protected him to the best of my ability and he protected my to the best of his ability. That didn’t really work out too well. We were pretty unpopular and not very intimidating. We kept a lookout for each other. We’d been by each other’s side through everything: girlfriends, heartbreaks, friendships and the ends of friendships. The one thing that remained the constant was our friendship.  
Initially, our parents were a little against us moving in together. They warned us that things would be different being roommates than just being friends. I had faith that we could make it though. If you ask me I think that they weren’t ready for us to grow up. Granted, Phil is about two years older than me but that’s never affected us before. (A/N: I realize that this isn’t right but for this Phil is gonna be 26 and Dan is gonna be 24. It works better that way because they just got out of college.) Yes, I have noticed some things are different now that I live with him but I’m hoping that we can get over them and that our friendship won’t be changed by it.  
~~~~~~~~  
After gathering my things and leaving Panorama, I headed for the train. The ride home was spent listening to “Call Me Al” by Paul Simon. It’s such a good song. The best part is the piccolo solo. It’s such a good marching tune as well. Walking in the door, I called for Phil. I was hoping he was home so that I could tell him how my day went. That and I was dying to hear how his day had gone.  
“I’m in the lounge, Dan!” he called out to me. Setting my things down near the hallway to my room, I walked toward the lounge. When I did finally get there, One Direction’s “They Don’t Know About Us” was filtering out of the stereo system. Phil was sitting on the sofa upside down, feet moving to the beat of the song. “Hey, Dan.” he mumbled to me, a faint smile crossing his face. “Buddy, is something wrong?” I questioned him. “No. I was just enjoying the music.” he answered. “It’s a pretty song, don’tcha think?”  
“Yeah, I mean the piano is wonderful. But, if you want a pretty song you should listen to either “What Hurts The Most” or “Why”. They’re both by Rascal Flatts.” I told him. “They both sound so sad though.” Phil replied, curiously. “Well they kinda are but they have such a good message.” I offered. I was really hoping he’d want to listen to them. I really loved both of those songs. And I just realized that I haven’t heard either of them in quite a long time. I was really itching to hear them. Even if he said no I could still go listen to them in my room.  
He looked up and me with a sweet smile covering his face, “Could you play them for me, Dan?” My raven-haired best friend asked, sweetly. With the puppy-dog eyes he was giving me, I couldn’t deny. I walked to the stereo, plugged my phone in so that I could play the songs from my it. Searching through my music I found the song I wanted and hit play.  
The opening chords mixed with the violin made me smile. I was lip-syncing the second the lyrics began, watching Phil’s face. I always did that when I was showing someone something; I watched them more that I watched the thing I was showing them, I wanted their reaction. The lead singer of the band, Gary, had this unique voice. I could pick it out of a crowd and not just because I was a big Rascal Flatts fan. The song itself is really depressing. It’s about someone walking out of your life and not knowing where it could have gone or being able to stop it. The chorus was my favorite part. If I wasn’t so weary of needles I’d go get it tattooed.  
“What hurts the most  
Was being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away  
And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was tryin’ to do”  
When the song came to a close, Phil looked at me and smiled. “That is a pretty song. The chorus was something else. I think that was my favorite part actually.” I was so glad that he liked it. Sometimes I feel like that song is my theme song. And no matter how sad it is, it always improves my mood.  
“That’s my favorite part too. It’s probably my favorite song ever.” I informed him with a smile. “Are you ready to hear the next one? That one is a little sadder.” He looked at me blankly and asked, “What’s it about that makes it so sad?” I only had one word to answer him with, “Suicide.” His blank look turned to one of shock and concern. “They wrote the song to help raise awareness about teen suicides and to show those that were having those thoughts that suicide isn’t the answer. That sometimes the better comes after the worse.” I told him truthfully.  
I got up to change the song to “Why”. I couldn’t help but to smile sadly when the opening piano notes played. It was so beautiful. The song painted such a perfect picture. That was one of the things I’d always admired about Rascal Flatts; they paint a beautiful mental picture, no matter what the song.  
“You must have been in a  
Place so dark  
You couldn't feel the light  
Reachin' for you through  
That stormy cloud  
Now here we are  
Gathered in our little hometown  
This can't be the way  
You meant to draw a crowd  
Oh why, that's what I keep asking  
Was there anything I could've  
Said or done  
Oh, I had no clue you were  
Masking  
A troubled soul, God only knows  
What went wrong and why  
You would leave the stage  
In the middle of a song  
Now in my mind I'll keep you frozen  
As a seventeen-year-old  
Rounding third to score the  
Winning run  
You always played with passion  
No matter what the game  
When you took the stage  
You'd shine just like the sun  
Oh why, that's what I keep asking  
Was there anything I could've  
Said or done  
Oh, I had no clue you were  
Masking  
A troubled soul, God only knows  
What went wrong and why  
You would leave the stage  
In the middle of a song  
Now the oak trees are swaying  
In the early autumn breeze  
A golden sun is shining on my face  
Through tangled thoughts  
I hear a mockingbird sing  
This old world really ain't that  
Bad of a place  
Oh why, there's no comprehending  
And who am I to try to  
Judge or explain  
Oh, but I do have one  
Burning question  
Who told you life wasn't  
Worth the fight  
They were wrong, they lied  
Now you're gone and we cry  
'Cause it's not like you to  
Walk away  
In the middle of a song  
Your beautiful song  
Your absolutely beautiful song”  
The shock that covered Phil’s face was enough to tell me that the song wasn’t what he was expecting it to be. “Well?” I asked, curious of his answer. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. “Yeah, that was my first reaction too. Actually, I cried.”  
“That - was - Oh my gosh! So beautiful!” He said, when he found his voice. I just smiled and nodded. I asked him if he wanted dinner and if  so what he wanted. The verdict was pizza.  
~~~~~~  
After we’d finished eating, we decided to watch some TV until 11 at which time we both went to bed. Making sure to charge my phone and set my alarm, I got into bed. I laid there for about 10 minutes until I felt my eyes droop and sleep overtook me. With a smile on my face, I dreamt of my exciting new job, beautiful music and oddly enough Phil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well here we are again, at the end of a chapter. How'd ya like it? Please can I have detailed responses? I worked sooooo hard on this. I'm gonna try to make the next chap in Phil's pov but no guarantees. I kinda half wanna wait and not post until I have a couple more done that way I don't have to keep up, I'll already have something to post I'll just be working on late parts but idk. As I'm sure you've noticed the italics in the chaps are like Dan's thoughts. When I say that Dan is based off of me, I'm completely serious. "What Hurts The Most" is my fave song. Phil will be a little different but that's ok. Also there was a bit of Phan progress at the end. Dan dreaming of Phil! *sigh* Hemmings-way, let me know your thoughts and feelings! Love you, my darlings! (Please think of a better nickname I can call you wonderus people!) ~Sam ^~^


	5. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> QOTC: The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are. ~ John Pierpont Morgan 
> 
> SOTC: Billionaire by Bruno Mars.
> 
> Hello! I'm back! This one took a long time. It's about 11 pages on my Doc. I might have to start making them shorter so that I can update more often. Images are under the descriptions. I hope you enjoy! ^-^ The link below is Lanie's outfit. I'm gonna make a cast list for this and change it when need be. Photo at the top is Phil's outfit later.
> 
> http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=190916659
> 
> ~Samm ^~^  
> (Ignore the whole "images are under the description" thing. It doesn't do that here.)

~Phil~ (A/N: ooh a twist!)

Waking up the next morning proved to be a bit of a fight. I had to nearly be drug from my bed. Dan, bless his soul, made breakfast once again but didn’t wake up nearly as early as he would’ve liked to. When I walked from my room, fully dressed, into the kitchen I found my dear best friend dancing around the kitchen and singing along to “Talk Dirty To Me” by Poison. It was an older song but had great guitar riffs. Bret Michaels voice was great in it as well. I couldn’t help but smile at that dork I call my best friend. He wasn’t the greatest singer but he could sing, so long as it wasn’t too high or too loud. I joined him when the song became “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw.  
He jumped when I started abruptly singing behind him. A slow smile crept onto his features when I sang the long note alone. As the music faded out he said, “That was great Ph-” I cut him off because “Hotel California” by The Eagles came on. Air-guitaring and air-drumming through the intro, I took my plate from him and sat at the table. When the lyrics hit, we were lip-syncing together. Don Henley’s voice could put even the best of singers to shame. Joe Walsh’s guitar solos were amazing! There’s no denying that he was talented. The sounds he could get out of a guitar would make even a deaf man cry. For a song about a drug trip, it was truly beautiful.  
That’s one of the thing’s I’d always loved about Classic Rock, a song about drugs can be so beautifully written that you would never know it was about drugs unless someone told you. My music taste is a little sporadic. I like just about every genre; I’m not that big on instrumentals and country. That’s more Dan’s speed. One of the things I loved most about our friendship is that our taste in just about everything is basically the same. We have our differences, sure, but most of the things I like he’s pretty okay with. As we finished breakfast, “I Like It Like That” by HCR came on. It’s one of those songs that you can’t help but dance to. The next three minutes and eight seconds were spent dancing and tidying up the kitchen a bit.  
When the song came to a close, we realized that we were running a bit later than yesterday and rushed for the door. After getting on the train, we each put our headphones in and listened to our own music. I hit shuffle and the first song that came up was MKTO’s “Bad Girls”. I love that song. The video is even better. Five songs and ten minutes later, Dan left the train to get to the school. He waved goodbye and said he’d call or text me when he went on his lunch break. Nodding I returned to my music just as Miley Cyrus’ “Butterfly Fly Away” came on. It was such a sweet song.  
When I got off the train, Go Radio’s “The Truth Is” was playing in my ears. Jason Lancaster’s, the lead singer, melodic voice was so soothing. I could listen to that song all day and have. It was a wonderful song with beautiful piano tones. It was one of those songs that if you were in a bad mood it could improve it or worsen it. It was generally a happy song but if it had significant meaning to you it could tear you apart.  
Walking into Empire, I was greeted by the lovely receptionist, Gemma. She smiled at me and I was awestruck by her beauty! “Hello, Mr. Lester! How are you today?” she asked of me. “Gemm, I told you yesterday. Just call me Phil!” I laughed. Her smile grew, “I apologize M- Phil. It just slipped my mind. I do see a lot of people on a daily basis you know.” I smiled at her understating the truth in her statement. “I suppose you’re right.” I replied. She laughed, her musical laugh. The one that made her hazel-y brown eyes sparkle and flash her amazing white smile. Gemm’s laugh was contagious and I couldn’t help but to laugh with her.  
After talking with Gemm for nearly ten minutes and receiving my week's assignments, I got in the elevator taking it to the twenty second floor. Stepping into the elevator soft music played. I recognized the current song as “Happy Little Pill” by Troye Sivan. It was so cool to see that Empire had good taste in music, even in the elevators. When the lift jolted to a stop on my floor, I stepped off; thinking of how some people are bothered by that very jolt. Dan was one of those people. He hated elevators with a purple passion. It was the jolt that bugged him most. Usually he stood in the corner of the lift and held onto the walls with his head down. (A/N: Me!)  
Upon starting at Empire I was informed that I would have my own office! It was amazing! The floors were a black tile. The far wall had a big window with a wonderful view. The side wall had the same set of windows with a shelf-like ledge under it. On the left wall was a floor to ceiling bookshelf. The window on the far wall connected to the stone exterior, which was also connected to the same stone on inside the building. The center of the room held an all black “L-shaped” desk. The back windowsill held two green plants. Just my style! On the desk stood a black Apple computer, a few white boxes, a modern black lamp and an all white modern, what I assume to be, piece of artwork. Under the desk was a white rolling cabinet. There was a comfortable looking black office chair placed behind the desk. The shelving unit was white and held mostly books and a few decorative pots. I assumed I could add or remove items to my liking.  
Just as I sat down in my new office, there was a knock on my door. The same door that had a metal plate on the outside with my name engraved into it. I stood walking to the door humming Where Is The Love by The Black Eyed Peas. Pulling the door open I was met with the most beautiful person I’d ever seen. She had bright blue eyes and strawberry-blonde hair. She was wearing these adorkable glasses that simultaneously made her look adorable and professional. She was wearing a Twenty-One Pilots t-shirt with a black leather jacket over it. Her black skinny jeans were slightly ripped and her shoes were black high tops with red flowered lace on the sides. On her wrists were stacked bracelets. Both were all black. The one on her left wrist had 5 Seconds of Summer written on it. Admittedly they had good music and I had all of their albums and eps on my phone. The bracelet on her right wrist said, “I lost my heart in the music”. Around her neck was a silver, diamond cat necklace. Her earrings were a simple black with the words “left” and “right” on them and were placed in the corresponding ears. She wore shiny dark black nail polish and black eyeliner and mascara to match. The back of her hair was held in place by a black leather bow. In her hand, her phone case was, of course, black with a skeletal hand flipping you off. Overall, she was gorgeous.  
“Are you gonna stare at me all day or are you gonna introduce yourself?” she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. The level of sarcasm she used was amusing. She reminded me of my best friend in that respect. “I -uh- m-my name is Ph-Phil-l,” I managed to stutter out feeling my whole face overheating. Laughing, she replied with, “Yeah, that’s what the door says.” She tapped my name plate. “I’m n-new here. T-today’s my f-first day of actual w-work,” I answered, mentally whacking my head on said name plate. “So I hear,” she smiled. If she keeps smiling and looking at me like that I’m gonna die! I swear I’m gonna pass out. “W-well, I- uh…” I trailed off, not knowing what else to say.  
“My name’s Lanie. Thanks for asking.” She spoke with a confidence I could never have. This beautiful girl- woman, had somehow made it nearly impossible for me to talk to her. I have never had this much trouble talking to anyone in my life. Then along comes Lanie and my whole world is suddenly flipped upside down. Everything about her was beautiful, even her name: Lanie. Before I could embarrass myself further, she spoke again. “I just thought I’d introduce myself to you, Phil, considering my office is right next to yours.” As she spoke, she raised her hand pointing to the left of my office, to where I assumed hers was. “If you need anything or have any questions, just knock on my door. If I’m not there the door will be open. I never stay away for too long, so if I’m ever not there just walk in and have a seat. My office looks just like yours just painted different and I have guest chairs.” She turned to leave when I didn’t reply.  
Her hand was on the doorknob ready to shut the door behind herself as she left before I could muster the courage to speak to her again. “I -uh- actually have a question for you now.” She nodded for me to continue. “How uptight is this place really? I’ve heard some things. Mostly that they’re pretty strict here. Is that true?” Lanie’s musical laughter filled my small office. “No, if anything Empire is the most laid-back and relaxed place I’ve ever worked at. They pretty much let you get away with murder here so long as you turn in something at least once a week. You could come in here and graphity your whole office and they wouldn’t care. You’re a designer! Any form of art is cool here. The more self-expression the better. In fact, come check what I did to mine.”  
She took my arm dragging me along behind her. A guy across the hall called out to me, “I see you’ve met Lanie!” I nodded in reply. “Good luck!” was what he said before I was pushed through a door. Her office was probably the coolest thing I’d ever seen. She was right, the general layout and placement of it was exactly like mine. However, the walls were black and red. There were CDs and books on the shelves. The floor was covered by this really awesome neon, rainbow paint splatter rug. One corner of the room’s floor was covered by a a faux asphalt hopscotch rug. There were posters littering the walls and somehow part of the ceiling. I’m not sure how she got them up there. She’s like 5’ 4” and the ceilings are at least seven foot high.  
I walked around looking at the posters. This girl had so many! Posters like; One Direction, Twenty-One Pilots, 5 Seconds of Summer, Ariana Grande and animals. There were twinkly lights around the posters. Music played from the computer softly. It was probably the coolest office space to ever exist. Just looking around you could get a sense of her personality. There was a space of the wall that was painted over with “chalkboard paint”. Little notes and doodles filled the blank spaces. Lanie was a lot different than her appearance showed. The way she was dressed you would have thought that she was a punk with a bit of an attitude. After seeing her space, I realized that there was more than meets the eye and I couldn’t wait to see it all.  
“State Champs? Am I right?” I asked gesturing to the computer on the desk. “So you have good taste in music I see.” was the response I got from her. “Tell me,” she said after a brief pause, “what song is this then? If you can tell me who sings it, you should be able to tell me the song.” Scoffing, I retorted, “Could you have picked an easier song? It’s Remedy. One of my favorite State Champs songs to be precise. Let me know when you have an actual test for me.”  
“Okay smart guy, tell me the name and artist of this song.” She sassed back. When the song started, I laughed. “It’s 2,000 Lightyears Away by Green Day.” Lanie smiled approvingly. “When the next song comes on, tell me who it is and what song. No peeking, no guesses. You have to be confident in your answer.” Nodding, I awaited the end of a great song. “Ready? Go!” She exclaimed when Green Day faded out. “Okay. It’s…. Hurricane! The Vamps!” I nearly shouted. The grin on her face was enough to know that I’d won her over for now. “Come on!” Pulling me closer to her we had an all out dance party right there in the middle of the room at 9:30 in the morning. Our moves were silly and wild. They all came to a stop when the song Dan had played for me last night came on. Blushing she moved to change it, I stopped her before she could reach the mouse.  
“It’s okay. This song is actually really good.” I told her, quietly. “How do you know this song? Most people don’t. I’m surprised that you do.” She questioned. Smiling I told her, “I didn’t know it before last night. My best friend/roommate played it for me.” The strawberry-blonde nodded, then asked, “What does he do?” Just being reminded of Dan had me smiling. I was so proud of him. He didn’t think he’d make it through Uni. I sat with his family at his graduation; he was so happy. Eyes shining with joy and unshed tears, a massive grin plastered on his face. After, I’d gotten the biggest hug out of his whole family, his fiery brown eyes pouring out the same tears he’d been holding back.  
“He’s a music teacher. He just started yesterday.” I replied. “Oh, really? What school does he work for? I have a cousin who’s an English teacher.” Her question caught me off-guard. It was then that I realized I didn’t know what school he worked at. Yet, I swear he’d told me. “I’m not sure.” I answered. “Here let me call him. He doesn’t have class until the end of the day.” Taking my phone out and checking the time to make sure that Dan wouldn’t be too busy to answer my call. Unlocking the device, opening my contacts and scrolling to his name “Danosaur”, then tapping call and pressing the electronic to my ear, I waited for him to pick up.  
“Hello? Phil? Why are you calling? Did something bad happen? Are you okay?” He questioned, voice laced with worry. “No, I’m fine! You’re such a worry wort. I just had a question to ask you.” I laughed at his questioning, but was secretly overjoyed by his concern for me. “Jesus, Phil! I was really worried. I thought you were in trouble. I wasn’t expecting to hear anything from you until lunch. What’s your question?” Dan replied, relieved. “So, my new friend Lanie and I were listening to music and that song you played me last night? It came on and I told her that you’d showed it to me. I told her that you were a music teacher and she asked where you worked because she has a cousin who’s an English teacher. I couldn’t remember you telling me what the name of the school was. I swear you told me but I can’t think of when or the name. So my actual question is what school do you work at?” I was slightly out of breath from that speech.  
Laughing he replied with,”First of all, Phil, I’m a band director not a music teacher. While yes, with my degree - I can be a music teacher, my job description is “band director”. Okay?” He paused and I rolled my eyes. “Second, I work at Panorama. It’s a newer school. Been around for a while, but it’s not as old as the rest of the schools in the area. Third, I did tell you about the school but I forgot to add in the name. So yes, you did hear me talk about the school just not the name. Lastly, ‘Lanie’ huh? Sounds to me like my best friend’s crushing on a co-worker” He singsonged the last bit. I smiled. He’d answered everything I’d asked and then some. That was one of the reasons Dan was my best friend. He gave an answer to just about everything I said to him.  
“Panorama? That’s the coolest name for a school I’ve ever heard. It’s so original. It’s fun! I like it!” I said smiling. It really was a cool name. “Yeah! Now tell me more about this Lanie you were talking about.” Dan fired back. I laughed, turning away so she wouldn’t see the blush I felt growing on my face. “I’ll tell you all about it when I get home tonight. Can you wait that long?” It was then that I heard music playing in the background on his end of the line. It wasn’t a song that I’d ever heard. I listened for identifying lyrics so that I could search it later; it sounded really good. Sighing, Dan returned with, “I guess I don’t really have a choice in the matter do I? Okay then, I’ll wait ‘til tonight. You’re still gonna call at lunch right?” He was insecure sometimes but who isn’t? The best part of our friendship is that I could always calm him down. “Of course I will!” I answered. “But right now I really should let you go. I’m sure you have a lot to do. I just called to ask that quick question.”  
“Alright then. I’ll talk you later then Phil! Bye!” After returning his farewell, I hung up. “So that’s your best friend huh?” Laine asked from her desk. I nodded. “What’s he like?” I was about to answer when I realized that this conversation could take hours and I hadn’t even attempted to do any work. “I really would like to tell you but I should probably get some work done.” I moved to the door, headed back to my office but she stopped me with, “Well neither one of us gets off until 4 and if need be you can take some work home with you. I wanna hear about this guy that has you wrapped around his finger.” Confusion struck me. Did she really think there was something going on between Dan and I? “If you mean to say that Dan and I are like dating or something, you’re wrong. He’ my best friend. I’ve known him forever. We’re practically brothers. I honestly don’t feel that way about him. I don’t think I ever could. Not to say there’s anything wrong with being gay, I’m just not.” I replied.  
“We’ll see about that. Now, tell me the story!” She exclaimed. I was shocked by the sudden raise in Lanie’s voice and decided to just tell her the story of Dan and I’s friendship. (A/N: Ok so I’m not gonna tell in full detail about their friendship. Just some of the important parts. It’s all gonna be in italics like they’re memories. If you wanna skip the friend story you can there will be “~~~” before and after so if you choose to skip I won’t be mad. It’s gonna tell the basics of their friendship like: how they met, their parents, siblings, earliest memory of Dan, some past relationships to explain why both are single atm, and pets. It might be boring. I’m sorry.) 

~~~~~~~~~~  
My earliest memories are of my parents and older brother. We had a cat when I was little; her name was Shelby. She was a bit standoffish. Didn’t really like people much. Shelb would always run off when company came over. There was one person she really didn’t like. I remember the day I met that person.  
I was about 6 or 7 at the time. My mum told me, when she got me up from my afternoon nap, that her best friend from high school was coming to visit. I was told she was bringing her son and Martyn and I were to be on our best behavior. The boy was supposedly around my age so that meant Martyn would probably lock himself in his room to play video games shortly after their arrival. Dad was at work and wouldn’t be home until 5. My brother didn’t spend much time with guests unless he was getting something out of it. When they arrived, mum introduced us to her friend Elyse and a boy who was only a few inches shorter than me. He had big brown eyes and curly blonde hair. He was half hidden behind his mother. Introductions over and Martyn gone off to is room, I learned the boy’s name. Daniel. He was quiet and shy but overall seemed cool. I really wanted to be friends but he seemed to be unable to talk. It wasn’t until I asked him if he wanted to play Sonic, that a bright smile lit up his features. His smile lit up the room to the point where he was almost glowing. After asking the mums and moving to my room, I placed the disk into the playstation, turned on the TV and handed Daniel a controller.  
An hour into Sonic and we were the best of friends. I learned that his favorite game was tomb raider and that he played it all the time. I learned that he preferred to be called Dan and that we had a lot of the same interests. When our mums called us downstairs we thought it was just for dinner. Running down the stairs playfully shoving one another, upon reaching the bottom of the stairs we found that the mums were both standing by the door. It was then that we knew we’d have to say goodbye. For now anyway. Bidding our farewells, we went our separate ways.

A few years later when I was 14 and Dan was 12, we met a bump in our friendship. Up until now we had been in the same school and not really that far from each other. All through elementary and middle school we were in the same school. But now I was moving on to high school and he was still in middle. (A/N: If it doesn’t work pretend it does) It was the first day of school and Dan was refusing to go. I was gonna be late if he didn’t get his act together. I’d already missed the bus because I had to go to Dan’s to talk him down. He was on the verge of a panic attack. Mum had agreed to drive me if I helped him out. He was pacing his room tearing at his hair. I had to be at school and in my first period seat by 7:30 and it was almost 7 now. The bus usually picked me up at 6:53 but here I was sat on the bed while my best friend was losing his mind. Everything I’d said thus far had gone in one ear and out the other. He just wouldn’t listen.  
He was worried that since I was gone, Joey would start harassing him again. Joey was the guy that bullied both of us back in elementary. He was a real jerk. His sister, Sara was a really good friend of mine. She told me that he was just jealous of our friendship. That was the only reason he had for picking on us like he did. She got him to stop for now but both her and I were moving on to the high school so there was a pretty good chance that he’d start picking on Dan again. I was confident that that wouldn’t happen but I can’t be sure. I can’t tell the future.  
“Dan, don’t worry. Everything will be fine. You have to trust me on this.” I said after 5 minutes of silent pacing. Nothing. He just kept pacing. It was starting to get on my nerves. I couldn’t take this anymore! I got up, crossed the room and grabbed him by the shoulders. Stopping his pacing and forcing him to look at me, I said, “Dan, you need to listen to me okay? You have to calm down. Stop thinking of what might go wrong and start thinking about what might go right. Don’t worry so much about what could happen. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life. Have a little faith that something good could happen from this. The more you fret the more goes wrong. If he does pick at you ignore him. That’ll drive him nuts! If you need me, I’m there. Okay?” A small hesitant smile crept onto his face as he nodded. “Now are you ready for school?” Once again he nodded. “Good. Let’s go.”

The bullying did start up again and Joey - sorry Joe, as he goes by now- kept it up all through high school. But Dan never let it get to him. He never let the bully in. And when I was around that kid ran off with his tail between his legs because he knew I wasn’t afraid to take him down or come after him. Last I heard he was in prison for aggravated assault. Joe had anger issues that were never addressed before it got too late. But Dan was never alone when it came to bullies. I was always there for him and he me. 

When we go to Uni, Dan knew what he wanted and went for it. I, on the other hand, was clueless. I switched majors like five times before I found my path. It wasn’t until Dan found my sketchbook that he encouraged me to pursue something with art. I was apprehensive at first but after some careful thought I switched my major one last time and went after something that made me happy. I was so worried about letting people down that I never chased the dreams that made me happy. I was always more concerned about other’s happiness than my own. When I finally did something that made me happy, I felt free, and like I was on top of the world!

A couple years into Uni, Dan met this girl. She was great! Smart, funny, beautiful, caring; everything Dan could have ever wanted. But for some reason it didn’t work out. He wouldn’t tell me why. Every time I asked he’d say it was no big deal and change the subject. It made me wonder if she’d broken his fragile little heart. I only ever met her once but she seemed perfect for him. That’s one secret he’s kept from me. Sober and drunk, I’ve never heard the story of the break-up. I was just told that they’d broken up and it wasn’t a big deal. I know he really liked her but that’s all I knew about it. Her name was Eleanor I think. (A/N: Btw, yes, this is Eleanor Calder who dated Louis Tomlinson. And for the record I do not like her which is why she’s Dan’s ex and why they ended on bad terms. Kay bye!) She was great as far as I knew.  
My last relationship didn’t end so well. It was around Junior year of high school. I’d met this really awesome girl when was walking home after staying late at school. Her name was “Desdemona”. Her parents were really in to Shakespeare. She had shoulder-length blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. She had a smile that lit up her face and was a few inches shorter than me. Desdemona, Mona for short, was wonderful. The break-up was pretty bad, she broke my heart. The only good thing out of it is that we stayed friends. I would get back together with her if she said the words. The break-up wasn’t really all that bad. The only reason we ended it is because she moved to LA to be an actress. I hear she starred in a hit show called “Twisted”. From what I heard it was really good. I haven’t spoken to her in a while because she’s been busy filming things, or so she told me. 

~~~~~~~  
“And getting this job is the first step in a long line of happy moments that I’m gonna go through in my life. And that’s the story of Dan and I.” I finished with a smile. By the expression on Lanie’s face, I could tell that I’d changed her mind. My friendship with Dan was rare but it was the best time of my life. All the stupid things and the hell we’ve been through has made it stronger. I don’t think that it’ll ever end. That’s a promise!  
“That was a beautiful story Phil. You guys are friendship goals!” she exclaimed. Chucking, I nodded in agreement. We talked for a while longer before I left to get some work done in my office.  
The first thing I did upon returning to my desk was put on some music. It always helped me stay focused. “Close the Distance” by Go Radio came on first. It was one of my favorites. I found myself singing along more than I was working. I got a lot done though. By lunch I had created seven images and three gifs. They didn’t all work with the theme of the next issue but they could work in the future. At lunch I called Dan and we made plans to go out with some old friends.  
“Hey, why don’t you ask this Lanie you were talking about earlier if she wants to go. I’m sure she’d have a blast,” my best friend asked, and practically feel the smugness emanating from him. “I don’t know, Dan. It’s really short notice and I’m sure she has plans,” I trailed off, sadly. “Oh come on. Phil! I’m sure she’s not that busy. Besides, it’s a Tuesday night. Who has massive party plans on a Tuesday?” He sassed back. I loved him but sometimes I just wanted to wring his neck. He really was like the annoying younger brother I never had. “Fine! I’ll ask her. You win this round, Dan.” His loud, boisterous laugh on the other end made me smile. Shortly after Dan had to hang up and get back to work. Supposedly, was making a lesson plan for the next week and transposing some music for the halftime show at the football game. (A/N: American Football.) I was invited to go to the game and see all his hard work put together. I was really excited about it. I marked it on the calendar the second after he’d asked me if I wanted to go.  
After lunch, I asked Lanie if she’d like to join my friends and I for dinner at Applebee’s. (A/N: American restaurant. Ignore the fact that most of the businesses will be American. And after this I’m not telling you if it’s American or not.) She’d agreed to meet us there at 7. Then I went back to work. When 4 o’clock rolled around, I’d created 3 gifs and 7 designs.  
Gif #1 was a black canvas with a white and grey spiral. I moved in slow counterclockwise turns. It looked almost like a pool filter that had been twisted and stretched.  
Gif #2 was a black canvas that I covered with a filter to make it look more grey and old-school. It was a random circling of shattered glass. The shards were all different sizes and shapes. The moved quickly and the longer you stared at it the more shards you could see. It was honestly really cool.  
Gif #3 was a bright blue canvas with a yellow flying bird on it. The bird appeared to go far away while still staying in one spot. The tiny feathered animal moved at a fast pace and flapped its wing. Being as you could only see one because it was moving to the right. With each movement of the wing the creature bounced as if it really were flying.  
Photo #1 was Mario covering a yellow background. The video game character was made entirely of words. The words were twisted and shaped so that they would form his outlining and designs. Each word was a different item that could be found or associated with the games.  
Photo #2 was the Pink Floyd prism. The only difference between the original and mine was that the lights and colors were made of hopping bunnies. Each bunny was different and was followed by a trail that matched it’s color.  
Photo #3 was the words “Creative Tempest” surrounded by green and blue pipes and slime. The background was made of a fancy garnishing. The text was in gold and made to look 3D.  
Photo #4 was a hodge-podge-d collage of everything related to the music industry and featured a couple of popular rappers. It was a rainbow of colors and shapes.  
Photo #5 was a crazy collage of nerdy things. It featured the words, “Nerd World” and was made of various nerdy doodles.  
Photo #6 was a Siberian Husky made of different shapes and designs. If you looked at it long enough it almost seemed robotic.  
And photo #7 was a crazy collage of things that just popped into my mind to draw. It had no rhyme or reason but it looked cool.  
I made sure the save the files on the computer in my office, and on a flash drive. I wanted to put them on my computer at home so that I would have them if something were to happen to them. After double and triple checking that I’d saved them, I gathered my things and went to clock out with Gemm. While I was there I made sure to ask her how her brother Harry was. I learned that he was thinking about signing up for X-Factor. (A/N:Yes I know, he would already have won. This fic is set in 2015-2016 and Hazza would already be a major star but this I my fic so let me dream!) She told me that she thought he had a real shot at being a singer. I told her to wish him luck for me. She replied with a massive smile that she would.  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
Upon arriving home, I found my best friend scrolling through Tumblr on the sofa. I smiled and went to my room to change from my work clothes and into a light blue shirt covered in small white triangles and a pair of black skinny jeans. I brushed through my hair. The wind had seriously messed it up. After I was satisfied with how I looked, I went to the lounge to talk to Dan before we had to leave for the restaurant.  
“Hey, how was school?” I asked of him when I sat on the sofa next to him. “You say that like I still attend school.” He laughed. “But, yeah it was good. I got to check marching formations today. I can’t wait for the football game!” I could tell he was truly happy with his new job. I loved to see him smiling. “That’s great, Dan! I’m excited too. I really can’t wait to see all your hard work come together.” A smile so bright crossed his face and I wondered if I was looking into the sun. His features seemed to glow with joy, his eyes shining their brightest. I was immediately struck by how similar this smile was to the one he gave me the day we met. I couldn’t believe I was so lucky to have a friend like Dan in my life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
After a few hours of mindless “Tumbling” and chats of our day’s adventures, we prepared to leave for the restaurant. We were having dinner with our friends Louise, PJ, and Chris. (A/N: Yes I put them in there. It’s not really about them. They have to have some friends that I didn’t make up.) They were to be here soon. Lanie was meeting us there. I couldn’t wait for everyone to meet her. She and I had become quite close since she knocked on my door. Having a similar taste in music was like having a connection directly to the soul. I was glad to have met her.  
A knock on the door drew me from my thoughts. I pulled myself to my, black Van clad feet. I wandered my way to the door. Pulling open the heavy door, revealed some of my closest friends. A smile edged it’s way onto my face upon seeing their smiling faces. I ushered them in and showed them the way to the lounge where Dan still was sat curled up on the sofa. Once in the lounge hugs and “I missed you”s were exchanged, before deciding to head out to the car. Applebee’s was too far to walk to so we were taking Louise’s car there.  
The five of us piled into her pale blue car. I wasn’t much of a car guy. That was Dan’s department. He loved cars. While waiting for Chris and PJ to work out who was sitting shotgun and who was sitting in the back, with Louise sitting in the driver's seat rolling her eyes, I asked my best friend what kind of car this was. He, confidently replied with, “It’s a 2012 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited. It has heated front seats, automatic temperature control, front dual zone a/c, electronic stability, leather upholstery, remote keyless entry, split folding rear seats and, best of all, wireless phone connectivity. This baby’s got cruise control, crystal clear radio with and mp3 hookup and CD player. It has nine speakers, Phil. Nine! It’s got 170 horse; gets about 23 miles per gallon. Heated door mirrors! An eighteen and a half gallon tank and it’s all wheel drive. Comes with brake assist, a panic alarm and traction control. The wipers, have rain sensors. It’s got a trip counter to keep track of your gas milage. And, dude, it’s got fog lights! It’s got an exterior temperature display and fully automatic headlights. It’s got an “H4” engine. It has a top speed of 130. This thing’s amazing!”  
I was amazed that he knew that much just by looking at it. I knew he was a car guy, but I didn’t know he was that much of a car guy. I thought he was more into music. I guess I was wrong. “Hey Dan, what’s an H4 engine?” I was really testing him to see how much he knew. “Well, Subaru produces water-cooled flat-four and flat-six "Horizontally-opposed" engines that are marketed as H4 and H6 which are not to be confused with H-block engines. The naming scheme refers to engine description, similar to inline engines being named I4 or I6, rather than their appearance front-on.” (A/N: That is straight from Google. I know next to nothing about cars. I got most of my information from subaruofmiami.com. The car thing came about when I Googled, “sedans” because I wanted a cool car for Louise to drive and I found the above car under images. So of course I also Googled the name of it to have, well the name. But then I wanted one of them to have insider information about the car so I gave Dan car skills. The above website gave be just about all the cars stats. I just had to know what an “H4” engine was so I searched that too. It was really helpful and easy to read/understand, despite me not knowing about cars. Hope you enjoyed my car talk ^-^)  
The drive to the restaurant was filled with music, laughter and conversation. We pulled into the parking lot at about 6:56 PM. After climbing out of the car and pushing through the doors, PJ went to the hostess to set us up with a table. She told him it would be a few minutes until we could be seated. They had to clear tables. Taking seats on the benches by the door to await our turn, we decided to play “I Spy”. A few minutes into the game, the restaurant door opened to reveal my co-worker. She was wearing about the same outfit, the only change being a different Tøp shirt. The girl hadn’t noticed us yet, she was staring at the phone in her hand, tucked under her arm was a file folder with doodles, stickers and small posters covering it. In her left ear was a black earbud. With her foot slightly tapping and mouth moving, it was clear she was listening to one of her favorites. When she glanced up to look for a hostess, she noticed me, a smile graced her beautiful face and a hand lifted to give me a small wave, before she walked towards our small group.  
“Hey. Whatcha, listening to?” I asked when she took a seat next to me. Instead of answering she handed me an earbud. I placed it in my ear only to be shocked by a male voice yelling at me about silence. My eyes widened in shock; she gave me an apologetic smile and a new song started. “This one’s called Guns For Hands” she answered my unasked question. I nodded and took in the sounds I was hearing. 

I know what you think in the morning,/When the sun shines on the ground,/And shows what you have done,/It shows where your mind has gone,/And you swear to your parents,/That it will never happen again,/I know, I know what that means, I know./That you all have guns,/And you never put the safety on,/And you all have plans,/To take it, to take it,/Don't take it, take it, take it./I'm trying, I'm trying to sleep,/I'm trying, I'm trying to sleep,.But I can't, but I can't when you all have,.Guns for hands, yeah

Halfway through the song, the hostess came to escort us to our table.We sat in a small silence until the waitress got there. Her name tag read Lizzie. We found out later that her name was Elizabeth Bison, pronounced Bee-son. (A/N: Inside joke. But this is my irl friend. This isn't her real name she asked me not to use it.) Taking our seats and ordering our drinks, we sat in a small awkward silence. I heard Lanie mutter, “And now I just sit in silence” and I couldn’t help but to chuckle. I then gave introductions and everyone seemed to like Lanie so far. I remembered the folder she’d had at the door and asked her why she brought it. “Oh, I kinda wanted to show you something I’ve been working on. It’s no big deal, I just thought it was pretty.” She replied sheepishly. Oh how the tables have turned. She reached into the folder and took out a page covered in differently colored flowers. I couldn’t tell what kind of flower they were but they were all beautifully drawn and colored. They were overlapping almost as if they were laying in a field or a pile.  
The rest of the meal was filled with conversation, catching up and getting to know Lanie. She really was something. Before leaving, I’d exchanged numbers with her. When I got home, Dan helped me compose a text to her. From there, we texted for hours. When I went to bed that night, I couldn’t help but think that I was starting to really like her and it might not be that safe. We worked together, what if something went wrong? What if we started dating and broke up? How would we be able to work together? What if the break-up was really bad? What if, what if, what if? Around 2 AM I still hadn’t fallen asleep because of all of the “what ifs” running through my mind. I needed someone to tell me I was being stupid and crazy, so I went to Dan’s door and knocked. “Yes, Phil?” Came his sleepy response. I opened the door and told him I couldn’t sleep. When he asked me why I burst into tears. He motioned for me to join him in his bed. (A/N: ;) A little Phan in this. Enjoy) He held me while I cried and when I calmed he listened to my rambled worries. He then told me exactly what I wanted to hear. “You’re being stupid and crazy. Nothing’s even happened yet. Don’t worry so much, that’s my job” he laughed. I cracked a small smile and went to leave but he told me to stay. So I did. I stayed and slept next to my best friend and for the first time in along time I slept entirely peacefully. Not a nightmare or bad thought to be found. I couldn’t help but to wonder if it was all because of Dan. And waking up the next morning I had a faint memory of a dream involving my best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Feedback is always accepted. I've posted this on my personal Google+, a Phan G+ I run and my Wattpad. I'm gonna give myself about a 2 or 3 page limit from now on until I get deeper into the plotline. I have big ideas that I can't put in bc this is just the beginning. See you next time.
> 
> ~Samm ^~^


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